Golf cart mounted range finder assembly

ABSTRACT

A golf cart mounted range finder assembly having a mount with an arm, which may be adjustable, a clamp portion, which may also be adjustable, at one end of the arm, and a mounting bracket at the other end of the arm, and a range finder attached to the mounting bracket. The clamp portion of the arm may be used to attach the range finder assembly to a support on the golf cart.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a golf range finder, and more particularly, to a range finder assembly, a mount for mounting a range finder on a golf cart, and a method of mounting a range finder assembly on a golf cart.

To skillfully play the game of golf, it is important to know the distance to the flag pole when approaching the green. Because this distance is often misjudged, golfers will under-club or over-club a shot which can materially adversely impact the golfer's score

Systems using Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation signals to aid in distance determination on a golf course have been developed. Primarily these are golf cart-based GPS units which receives signals from navigation satellites. See, for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,278,402; 5,524,081, and 5,469,175. Search system must be installed by the golf course management and cannot really be individually owned and used wherever the owner chooses. Because of the expense of such systems, to date, this use has been limited.

A more convenient, less expensive alternative is a hand held range finder. The United States Golf Association (USGA), the ruling body of golf, has ruled that hand held range finders are legal for use in determining yardage from target during a round of golf. This was done mainly to accelerate the game by allowing players to use range finders instead of walking off yardage, looking for yard markers and then trying to figure yardage from there.

But, with the hand held range finders it is difficult to hold it onto small targets such as golf flags, small trees, rocks etc. People do not have a steady hand and aren't able to hold the range finders steady enough and long enough to get an accurate reading. This problem defeats the purpose for having a range finder in the first place, which is to speed up play. If a person has to take 3 or 4 readings and still cannot trust the range finder, then no time is saved. In many cases, if an unsteady hand causes the object measurement to be off by just a fraction of an inch, the distance measurement can by wrong by 30 to 60 yards or more. Another problem with the hand held range finder, people now pick up the range finder at each shot and then replace it back in their bag or in the golf cart. This not only takes time, but can harm the range finder by dropping it, scratching the lens or even losing it if it were to bounce or slide out of the cart. The more you handle the range finder the more damage can occur.

Accordingly, there is a need for a way to mount a hand held range finder on a golf cart for stability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention meets that need by providing a golf cart mounted range finder and a mount for attaching all types of range finders to a golf cart, which mount provides convenient, solid and steady base for the range finder. The range finder assembly can be easily mounted on a golf cart at the start of a round of golf, easily adjusted during the round of golf, and easily removed at the end of the round of golf. The golf cart mounted range finder assembly of the present invention allows the user to easily get an accurate reading. No shaking or movement will occur.

The mount of the range finder assembly is designed to clamp onto the frame which supports the roof of the golf cart. In order to fit on all golf carts, the mount is fully adjustable. The clamp portion of the mount will fit all round or square tubing and the arm of the mount can be extended in order to clear the roof for easy access to the user. The mount can be placed for easy access on either side, front or back, of any golf cart.

At the end of the arm opposite the clamp portion is a mounting bracket for an otherwise hand held range finder of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,322, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Preferably, the range finder is one like a Bushnell Pinseeker Range Finder which has a built-in tripod mount attachable to the mounting bracket on the mount to form the range finder assembly. If not, an accessory attachment bracket can be added to the range finder or clamp.

When the rang finder is mounted it is only handled twice; once to place it on the mount before the start of a round of golf and once to remove it from the mount when the round of golf is finished. Thus, the mounted range finder assembly protects the range finder from damage, but more important when the range finder is mounted solid to the cart it becomes much faster to use and is much more accurate and effective than when held in a persons hands.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a golf cart having the range finder assembly of an embodiment of present invention mounted thereon.

FIG. 2 is a close-up view of the range finder assembly of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the range finder assembly of an embodiment of the present invention, showing the range finder disassembled from the mount.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the mount of the range finder assembly of an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a golf cart 10 having a range finder assembly 20 attached to driver's side front roof support 12. The range finder assembly may also be attached to passenger's side front roof support 14, either of the rear roof supports 16, 16′, or the lower rim of roof 18.

As shown in more detail in FIGS. 2-4, the range finder assembly of the preferred embodiment has a mount 22 with an arm 24 having a clamp portion 26 at one end and a mounting bracket 28 at the other end. A range finder 30 is attached to the mounting bracket 28. (see FIGS. 2-3).

Clamp portion 26 of mount 22 is an adjustable jaw clamp which fits around supports of varying shapes and sizes and which adjusts by rotation of screw 34 so that the jaws 36, 36′ of the clamp portion (see FIGS. 3-4) tighten and lock around the support to which the mount is being attached, such as driver's side front roof support 12 (see FIGS. 1-2). This allows for attaching mount 22 to round, square, or other shaped tubing, supports, or frame members of various sizes. It also allows for vertical adjustment of the range finder assembly (by unclamping, raising or lowering mount 22 and reclamping) to accommodate the height of the user. Other adjustable clamps may be used for the clamping portion such as C-clamps, adjustable band clamps, and bar clamps.

The arm 24 of mount 22 is adjustable lengthwise by loosening locking screw 38. Preferably arm 24 can be extended from 8″ to 16″. Thus, arm 24 has at least two telescoping tubular members, one of which fits inside the other. More than two telescoping tubular members may be used to, for example, increase the lengthwise adjustability of arm 24. Likewise arm 24 may be formed of other adjustable structures such as metal or plastic bars which are slidably joined.

The mounting bracket 28 as shown is a typical tripod mounting bracket having an instrument mounting plate 40 with a male threaded attachment device 42 for receiving the female threaded attachment device of built in tripod mount 32 on range finder 30. Other types of mounting brackets, such as frames, mounting plates, clips, straps, harnesses and yokes can be used, thus eliminate the need for a built in tripod mount on range finder 30.

Range finder 30 is preferably a Bushnell Pinseeker Ranger Finder 1500 with slope which provides the golfer with a compensated distance based upon the degree of incline or decline. Such range finders generally emit invisible, eyesafe, infrared energy pulses that are reflected off a selected target back to the receiving optics. Circuitry and a high speed clock are used to instantaneously calculate distances. They are said to be capable of measuring distances instantly and accurately within one yard. Other range finders which may be used include those in the Bushnell Yardage Pro series, the Nikon Laser Caddy Rangefinder, the Simmons Yardage Master range finders, and the NewCon LRM range finders, among others.

When the golf cart approaches the ball in the fairway, the golfer positions the cart such that the flag stick in the distance can be viewed through the range finder. After accurately determining the distance between the ball and the flag stick, the golfer can make the proper club selection.

The present invention thus provides an easily constructed, inexpensive golf range finder assembly which has significant advantages over the prior art including, for example, more accurate distance measurements (which leads to more accurate club selection) and added convenience and time savings for the golfer who is utilizing a golf cart.

While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for purposes of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those persons skilled in the art that various changes in the methods and apparatus disclosed herein may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. 

1. A mount for a golf cart mounted range finder assembly, comprising: an aim, a clamp portion at one end of said arm, and a mounting bracket for a range finder at the other end of said arm, said mounting bracket being selected from a tripod mounting bracket, a frame, a mounting plate, a clamp, a strap, a harness, or a yoke.
 2. The mount of claim 1 wherein said arm is adjustable lengthwise.
 3. The mount of claim 2 wherein said arm comprises at least two telescoping tubular members.
 4. The mount of claim 2 wherein said clamp portion is adjustable to fit around supports of varying shapes and sizes.
 5. The mount of claim 4 wherein said clamp portion is selected from the group consisting of adjustable jaw clamps, C-clamps, band clamps, and bar clamps.
 6. The mount of claim 5 wherein said clamp portion is an adjustable jaw clamp.
 7. (canceled)
 8. The mount of claim 1 wherein said mounting bracket is a tripod mounting bracket.
 9. A range finder assembly adapted to be mounted on a golf cart, comprising: a mount having an aim, a clamp portion at one end of said arm, and a mounting bracket at the other end of said arm, said mounting bracket being selected from a tripod mounting bracket, a frame, a mounting plate, a clamp, a strap, a harness, or a yoke, and a range finder attached to said mounting bracket.
 10. The range finder assembly of claim 9 wherein said arm is adjustable.
 11. The range finder assembly of claim 10 wherein said arm comprises at least two telescoping members.
 12. The range finder assembly of claim 11 wherein said clamp portion is adjustable to fit around supports of varying shapes and sizes.
 13. The range finder assembly of claim 12 wherein said clamp portion is selected from the group consisting of adjustable jaw clamps, C-clamps, band clamps, and bar clamps.
 14. The range finder assembly of claim 13 wherein said clamp portion is an adjustable jaw clamp.
 15. (canceled)
 16. The range finder assembly of claim 9 wherein said mounting bracket is a tripod mounting bracket.
 17. A method of mounting a range finder assembly on a golf cart, comprising: attaching a mount to a portion of a golf cart, wherein said mount comprises an arm, a clamp portion at one end of said arm and, a mounting bracket at the other end of said arm, said mounting bracket being selected from a tripod mounting bracket, a frame, a mounting plate, a clamp, a strap, a harness, or a yoke, and attaching a range finder to said mounting bracket.
 18. The method of claim 17 wherein said clamp portion is an adjustable jaw clamp and is attached to said golf cart by tightening and locking the jaws of said jaw clamp around a support on said gold cart.
 19. The method of claim 17 wherein said mounting bracket is a tripod mounting bracket, said range finder has a built-in tripod mount, and said range finder is attached to the tripod mounting bracket by means of the built-in tripod mount.. 